22:11 - Hex_Omegaflight, change your title from 'Stamp Tramp' to 'Master Of The Lists'. 15 lists in 4 months, lol

22:02 - mzyeah Neachy. I've been so out of the metal globe for 2.5 months and have checked only 4 albums: Eerie( 2014), that black metal album with red cover form Iceland, desolate shrine and Abyssal Gods. All of them are very good :D

This kind of powerful, Teutonic power metal might be hard to come by these days - but Iron Savior are still standing strong as the years pass. Three years after the previous album, Rise Of The Hero is another solid piece of work and a welcome reminder of how things should be done.

Already the gauntlet has been thrown down for power metal album of the year by Iron Savior! "Empire Of The Undead" is going to have to be totally stunning if Kai Hansen is going to usurp this amazing effort from his old bandmate Piet Sielck. Some wonderful old school metal and speed metal tracks are on offer here, which might just be the best album by Iron Savior yet! It is definitely the best album they've made since Kai Hansen left without a doubt, it's brilliant power metal all the way.

Already the gauntlet has been thrown down for power metal album of the year by Iron Savior! "Empire Of The Undead" is going to have to be totally stunning if Kai Hansen is going to usurp this amazing effort from his old bandmate Piet Sielck. Some wonderful old school metal and speed metal tracks are on offer here, which might just be the best album by Iron Savior yet! It is definitely the best album they've made since Kai Hansen left without a doubt, it's brilliant power metal all the way.

You've certainly piqued my interest. I've loved every single I heard off of "Empire of the Undead", this sounds like it's something really special.

EDIT: I've listened to it for 40 minutes. It's all been great music, though I feel one or two tracks could have been done away with. That said, I'm not gonna able to finish it all in one sitting... it's heavy. Not thrash metal in your face heavy, epic, telling a story heavy. But it's a wall of sound nonetheless, and it's something that you don't just listen to in the background. Speaking of thrash, I can tell right away that this album has a problem similar to what Exodus' Exhibit B had... droves. Lots of droves. Too many droves. To quote a certain bitter reviewer on here.

For me, the only song the album could have done without, is the cover song "Dance With Somebody". Every other song has something about it which engages me as a listener and fan of this type of music. Be it the ultra infectious harmony riff in "Firestorm", the ferocious riff set which opens "Thunder In The Mountains", or the huge, atmospheric hooks which infest "Last Hero", every song has something to love about it. Even "Dragon King", which didn't hit me initially due to it's more sluggish pace, eventually bored it's way into my affections. Every listen makes me love the album even more.

For me, the only song the album could have done without, is the cover song "Dance With Somebody". Every other song has something about it which engages me as a listener and fan of this type of music. Be it the ultra infectious harmony riff in "Firestorm", the ferocious riff set which opens "Thunder In The Mountains", or the huge, atmospheric hooks which infest "Last Hero", every song has something to love about it. Even "Dragon King", which didn't hit me initially due to it's more sluggish pace, eventually bored it's way into my affections. Every listen makes me love the album even more.

It's true, there's nothing on here really poorly made. Even that cover seems fine enough, though I can't say how it compared to the original due to me not having listened to it... It's just that when I started listening, I was convinced this was intended to be a Rhapsody style storyline. Except with sci-fi. And waaaaaaaaay less cheese (Never change Luca). Then you get tracks like burning heart, dance with somebody, and fistraiser which just left me confused. Now I'm not really sure if that was the intent, might have just been to make a badass power metal album. Which I can definitely get behind, last year was definitely a disappointment in terms of heavy power metal.

Written by Darth Revan on 03.03.2014 at 03:55It's true, there's nothing on here really poorly made. Even that cover seems fine enough, though I can't say how it compared to the original due to me not having listened to it... It's just that when I started listening, I was convinced this was intended to be a Rhapsody style storyline. Except with sci-fi. And waaaaaaaaay less cheese (Never change Luca). Then you get tracks like burning heart, dance with somebody, and fistraiser which just left me confused. Now I'm not really sure if that was the intent, might have just been to make a badass power metal album. Which I can definitely get behind, last year was definitely a disappointment in terms of heavy power metal.

Well... the first 5 Iron Savior albums were all tied together by a sci-fi concept. Since "Megatropolis", there have been songs written outwith that concept. Like on this new album, "Revenge Of The Bride" is very obviously a song about The Bride character from the "Kill Bill" movies. On the last few albums, most of the songs have been loose/stand alone songs, with maybe one or two songs that tie in with the concept of the first 5 albums.

Already the gauntlet has been thrown down for power metal album of the year by Iron Savior! "Empire Of The Undead" is going to have to be totally stunning if Kai Hansen is going to usurp this amazing effort from his old bandmate Piet Sielck. Some wonderful old school metal and speed metal tracks are on offer here, which might just be the best album by Iron Savior yet! It is definitely the best album they've made since Kai Hansen left without a doubt, it's brilliant power metal all the way.

Written by Super_Greg on 04.03.2014 at 02:09I was on the fence, but I need to hear this now

Been far too long since I've heard a good power metal album.

I'm sure you won't be disappointed! I can't imagine any lover of power metal doing anything but loving this album. Piet Sielck is a power metal master, which shouldn't be surprising, seeing as he was in early incarnations of Helloween with his school friend Kai Hansen.

And yep... there's been precious few great power metal releases in recent years, but this certainly is one!

Written by Super_Greg on 04.03.2014 at 02:09I was on the fence, but I need to hear this now

Been far too long since I've heard a good power metal album.

I'm sure you won't be disappointed! I can't imagine any lover of power metal doing anything but loving this album. Piet Sielck is a power metal master, which shouldn't be surprising, seeing as he was in early incarnations of Helloween with his school friend Kai Hansen.

And yep... there's been precious few great power metal releases in recent years, but this certainly is one!

Already the gauntlet has been thrown down for power metal album of the year by Iron Savior! "Empire Of The Undead" is going to have to be totally stunning if Kai Hansen is going to usurp this amazing effort from his old bandmate Piet Sielck.

Shit. I should start to read the comments in the albums before reviewing 'em.

What difference would it have made to your review if you had read my comment first?

"As expected, this new release has precisely zero originality, but confirms the value of the riff-based style that Iron Savior crafted through the years. With what's probably his best album in a decade, Piet Sielck throws down the gauntlet to his ex-mate Kai Hansen, now in Gamma Ray, for the power metal Album Of The Year."

There's nothing wrong with it. It just sounds exactly the same as all of their other albums....and I mean exactly the same. I had to check I had put the right CD in.

Condition Red is the only one that is lifted above the mediocre. Mainly because it was the first album of theirs that I heard. They suffer from "DragonForceitis". A disease that makes it impossible to tell which song it is and from which album.

There's nothing wrong with it. It just sounds exactly the same as all of their other albums....and I mean exactly the same. I had to check I had put the right CD in.

Yup.

Alas so many bands are becoming like this - every album is just a rip off of whatever formula they found successful.

Seems in the 21st century you either get extreme change or no change. There's not much in terms of gradual evolution.

I don't mind when a band stick to a formula or their stylised signature sound... but not sticking to the same song. Helloween, Blind Guardian or Iron Maiden have a signature sound, but at least each song is different and each album has its own identity.